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Email Asks Federal Workers To List Work Accomplishments; Pope In Critical Condition Following Respiratory Crisis; Growing Outbreak; Cancer Breakthrough. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired February 22, 2025 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[20:01:49]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're on the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York. And tonight, a new threat for federal workers from Elon and they first learned about it in a tweet. Musk posting on X, federal employees are getting an email asking them to justify their work. Musk said, "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

CNN obtained copies of emails sent to multiple federal workers and it reads, "please reply to this email with approximately five bullets of what you accomplished last week and CC your manager." It goes on to say the deadline is this Monday one minute before midnight.

It's not signed by anyone and it comes from the alias, you see it there, just HR. This as new CNN polling showing 51 percent of Americans think the mass firings of federal employees have gone too far. And more than half of Americans think Trump is overusing his executive powers.

So with all these firings and executive actions, is voter enthusiasm for President Trump changing? CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten is here to help us answer that question. Harry, good to see you.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Good to see you.

DEAN: Walk us through how Americans are feeling about President Trump as we're now a month into his second term.

ENTEN: Yes, it's been a month. It's flown by or taken forever, depending on who you ask. But either way, let's take a look at Trump's numbers right now. This is his net approval rating. These are polls, four of them released over the last week. And you might notice there's a lot of red on the screen and a lot of negatives.

Trump is underwater in all these polls, his net approval rating. Look at this, minus 5 points in the CNN poll, minus 6 points in Gallup, minus 7 points in Ipsos, minus 4 points in Quinnipiac, negative, negative, and then negative. He is underwater in all of these polls. As I said earlier this week, he's a little bit like the Little Mermaid underwater.

DEAN: That's one way to put it, Harry.

ENTEN: Yes. DEAN: And then, how are people's feelings toward Trump changing from a month ago?

ENTEN: Yes, all right. So you notice all negatives. You know, I come on this program. I give the good news for one side, the bad news for the same side, depending on how the polls change. And here, you can see it very well here, Trump's net approval rating, the change since January. Three of those pollsters on that prior page had a poll conducted just after Trump took office.

And you can see the trend line here. It ain't good for President Trump. It ain't good. And Gallup, he's down 5 points on that approval, Quinnipiac, down 7 points and the Reuters-Ipsos get this, down 13 points. Their first poll was conducted, I believe, January 20th, the 21st. And you can see how much Trump's numbers have taken a dive, how much they've taken a dive since he's come into office.

The bottom line is a month in, voters are not liking what Trump's doing compared to how they thought they'd feel a month ago.

DEAN: And obviously the economy, a big help to Trump in his first term. What about now?

ENTEN: Yes. This to me is the biggest shocker of all of this, because you can recall even when Trump was underwater during pretty much all of his first term, he was positive on the economy. Trump's net approval rating on the economy in February 2017, he was five points above water in the average poll. Look at where he is now.

[20:05:00]

The economy, which was once his bread and butter has all of a sudden been something that is holding him back. He's actually doing worse on the economy than he is doing overall in the average poll. That to me is just shocking. That is shocking because Trump won on the economy.

And just like with Joe Biden, I've said this a number of times, inflation and the economy ate the Joe Biden presidency alive. Voters elected Trump to change the course of the economy. And so far, what's happening, Trump's not changing the economy. The economy is changing voters' views on Donald Trump. They are negative.

DEAN: Interesting. That's a great -- that's a good way to put it to kind of help explain it. What about the top complaint that those who oppose Trump have to him now?

ENTEN: Yes, you might think it's the economy. It ain't the economy. It's actually what we let off this hour with. Take a look here. What is it? The top worst things Trump has done.

Look at this, 24 percent amongst those who opposed Donald Trump, 24 percent. The top answer in the Washington Post Ipsos poll said Musk, DOGE or those funding freezes or cuts, that is number one. You might have thought maybe as well it could be the immigration policy. Of course, remember after -- when January of 2017, remember all those folks that were out on the street, they were going against Trump because they felt his immigration policies, that Muslim ban was too tough. But that's actually complaint number two.

It's actually the federal spending cuts, Musk and DOGE, that is in fact pulling Trump back. Voters simply put, do not like it. It is the number one reason that they oppose Donald Trump at this particular point.

DEAN: And then what about the Elon Musk of it all? How do they feel about his role in the administration?

ENTEN: Yes. So let's dig a little bit deeper into Elon Musk. Take a look here. Musk's role in the administration, a key role for Musk in the administration, look at this. Overall, with voters, 42 percent approve. You don't need to be a mathematical genius to see that 54 percent is the larger number.

They disapprove of the key role that Musk is playing in this Trump administration. And among Independents, Jessica, just 39 percent approve. Elon Musk has not been a positive for Donald Trump so far. He's been a negative for him, just like the economy so far has been a negative for Donald Trump.

DEAN: And have feelings on Musk changed since he --

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: -- took this role?

ENTEN: Yes. You might think, hey, maybe people are warming up a little bit to Elon Musk given his role. You know, Donald Trump certainly has very warm feelings towards the Tesla man. Elon Musk net favorable rating, look at this.

In December of 2024, he was five points on the winner. Not great but not horrible. But look at this. In the recent Quinnipiac University poll, he's now 12 points underwater. Voter views towards Elon Musk have become more negative, just like they become more negative towards Donald Trump. Voters at least one month in don't like what they're seeing.

We'll see what happens down the road, but so far, not so good for the second term for Donald Trump and friends.

DEAN: All right. Harry Enten walking us through the numbers as always. Harry, thank you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Joining us now, CNN media analyst and media correspondent for Axios, Sara Fischer. Sara, always good to have you on. Thanks for being up a little later with us on this Saturday night.

I do want to get to those poll numbers in a second, but I first want to ask you about this tweet from Elon Musk, the corresponding emails that have followed, all happening within the last couple of hours, asking federal employees to justify their work. And Musk separately threatening on X that if workers don't respond, it will be taken as a resignation.

I know you've covered Elon Musk extensively. I just want to get your thoughts if you're surprised at all about how he is going about all of this.

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I'm not surprised, Jessica. Elon Musk's MO has always been to cut drastically and quickly with any company that he's bought or taken over, or built, because he wants to get the margins. He wants to make sure that companies are profitable.

And the difference here with something like an X versus the federal government, X, when he took it over, Jessica, there was like 7,500 employees. The federal government employs 3 million employees. And I think the reason people are frustrated with the nature of that email is, he's treating this like it's a very simple cut copy paste to get people out of the government, when reality there are so many different circumstances that might dictate whether or not people can respond to that email, whether or not that email is taken the way they need it to be taken.

What about people who are currently out on leave, out on maternity leave? If they don't respond to their boss within a few days, does that mean that they are resigning their job? It just feels too cut and dry. And remember, these employees, these federal workers, they're so used to a bureaucratic system where there are so many rungs in the ladder to get to a resignation in the first place.

Remember, it's kind of hard to get fired from the federal government, that this just feels like a shock to them because it's just so not what they are used to and not what they are prepared to center their life around. Possibly losing their job in an instant.

DEAN: Right, so much uncertainty. And our new CNN polling shows 54 percent of Americans think it's a bad thing for Musk to have a role in the federal government. Again, just based on your coverage of him, how do you think, if he does at all, internalize any of this pushback, any of these negative stories, or is he somebody that really just tunes that out?

[20:10:10]

FISCHER: He definitely just tunes that out. And a thing to remember about polls like this, when you think about the federal government workforce, about 80 percent of those 3 million federal workers are outside of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. So these are just everyday Americans who feel threatened and stressed by these policies.

That poll describes the feeling of the masses outside of the places where Elon Musk is spending his time, like the coast and Washington, DC. And so, he's very insulated, in my opinion, from the everyday American that's probably struggling to grapple with these decisions. But we saw so much negative coverage coming out of X, coming out of SpaceX and Tesla at various points. It's never phased him, it's never changed the way he's done his job, and I don't expect for it to impact him in his capacity now with DOGE and Washington. DEAN: Yes. And much has been made about the relationship between

Trump and Musk. And we saw them in their joint interview where they were clearly trying to broadcast that they're very close, that there is no distance between the two of them, that certainly what a lot of people around them in the White House, in kind of, for lack of a better term, MAGA world want to portray it as. And that very well might be true.

But how long do you think that stays the case, if it is the case? And if Musk starts dragging on Trump's poll numbers, do you think there ever becomes a moment where the two of them kind of butt heads?

FISCHER: I think Donald Trump would not be afraid to ask Elon Musk to pull back. Because remember, everyday Americans are impacted by these cuts in ways you can't even imagine. It's not just jobs being lost, but when you cut federal spending from certain programs impacts various types of workers around the country, even if they're not for the federal government.

Donald Trump has a history of not having long term connections with the people in his cabinet, in his White House. You'll recall so many people from the Trump inner circle starting in 2017. The vast majority of them did not retain their roles all the way through the end of the Trump administration.

So if Elon Musk can pull this off, it's because he has leverage over Donald Trump. It's because Donald Trump feels as though he needs Elon Musk to be carrying out these cuts or to keep him alive on his social media platform. But it would be the exception and not the rule if he's able to maintain that relationship.

Very few with Donald Trump outside of his immediate family have been able to do it throughout the full four years of his administration last time.

DEAN: Yes. It'll be a tightrope to walk, that is for sure. Sara Fischer, thanks. Really good to see you. We appreciate it.

FISCHER: Thank you.

DEAN: And breaking news, doctors say Pope Francis' previous lung issues are complicating efforts to treat his pneumonia as the 88-year- old pontiff enters his second week in the hospital now in critical condition. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:17:40]

DEAN: The health of Pope Francis appears to have taken a turn for the worse, that's according to the Vatican. The pontiff developing an asthmatic respiratory crisis earlier today and he remains in critical condition. Pope Francis has now been in the hospital for more than a week, battling pneumonia in both his lungs.

The Vatican says he continues to be alert, but is in more pain than yesterday. Francis ascended to the papacy in 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first pope to do so in nearly 600 years. And joining us now is Candida Moss, author and professor of theology at the University of Birmingham. Thank you so much for being here with us.

I know Pope Francis ushered in a number of reforms. Walk people through how he has reshaped the Catholic Church, and just this moment in time, as we wait to get further updates on his health.

CANDIDA MOSS, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Thanks so much for having me. Yes, this is a very tense and difficult time for Catholics around the world, and that's particularly because Francis has reshaped the Catholic Church.

He's known as a progressive pope. He has reached out to LGBT Catholics. He's shown an openness to reintegrating divorced and remarried Catholics back into the church. He's put women in leadership positions. And more than anything, he's decentralized power in the Catholic Church.

So he has appointed 110 of the 138 cardinals who will vote in the next conclave. And he's done so in order to create a global church, a church that speaks for Catholics everywhere in the global south as well as in Europe and North America. It remains to be seen as what happens to his progressive legacy.

But in terms of changing the shape of the Catholic Church and its organization, Francis has done that irrevocably.

DEAN: Yes. And of course, across the world, people are praying for Pope Francis' recovery. But help us understand what might be going on behind the scenes right now. What might they be preparing for? What's going on as, again, as we wait to see how this develops.

MOSS: Yes. Of course, everyone's hoping that Pope Francis recovers. At the same time, there are Vatican protocols for holding a funeral in the event that he dies. And a funeral for a pope is a global event, has to be organized within four to six days of his passing.

[20:20:07]

And this is particularly difficult as Francis has put in place regulations for a much simpler and different funeral than his predecessors. He will be the first pope to be buried outside of Vatican City, in the city of Rome, in Santa Maria Maggiore, which is a church he regularly prays in. And so for the Vatican, right now, they are hoping Francis recovers, but they're also trying to plan a funeral of the likes that nobody has seen in this generation.

DEAN: And so, what happens now? We obviously are getting updates from the Vatican as they get updates from his doctors, but what should people expect?

MOSS: Well, Francis early on in his papacy said that he wouldn't be afraid to step down if the situation arose. In fact, he signed a letter of resignation several years into his papacy, which is now over a decade long. And so in the event that things take a turn for the worse, there are structures already in place to start preparations for his funeral if he were to die.

But even if he recovers, we may well see him stepping down as his predecessor did.

DEAN: All right. Candida Moss, thank you so much. It's nice to see you. We appreciate your time.

MOSS: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Let's go now to the war in Ukraine. Tonight, the Trump administration is pressing Ukraine to accept a deal on rare earth mineral as part of wider negotiations aimed at ending the war. According to a source familiar with those talks, it does not sound as if Ukraine's president is likely to take that deal. The talks come as Ukraine looks to secure security guarantees from the US. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more now from Kyiv.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: Intense discussion and scrutiny around the rare earth mineral deal that has become really the central plank of United States-Ukrainian relations moving forwards. We're hearing from a source familiar with the negotiations that the current draft certainly as of Saturday morning, is not acceptable to the Ukrainian presidency.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy apparently concerned that within that there are many concessions to the United States in terms of the availability of rare earth minerals, metals and natural resources inside of Ukraine, but few security guarantees or even security elements, as one Ukrainian official described it to me in Ukraine's favorite. On the other side, a US official familiar with the negotiations describes the deal in different terms, suggesting that this is essentially for the United States a way to be less dependent on China for many of these resources and also a way of incentivizing Washington when it comes to Ukraine's defense. Kind of a win-win in their perspective.

And they stress that in the time in which the US envoy to Ukraine and Russia, General Keith Kellogg, was in Kyiv, the deal moved forwards significantly. But we're into a very difficult moment here because it is clear from listening to the past week of President Trump talking that his personal warmth towards Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy is significantly diminished. He's at times used falsehoods and insults to push Zelenskyy into a corner.

And the debate over how this deal is indeed signed continues to rage, with Zelenskyy often having to defend Ukraine about simple facts about the fact that Russia invaded and his own personal popularity. It does appear that this is the one key sticking point to future aid, without which it will be exceptionally hard for Kyiv to fend off future Russian aggression. So a clock ticking certainly most Ukrainian officials we speak to saying this is an urgent task, certainly. But the outstanding points, clearly ones that are being debated hour by hour.

And so much hanging in the balance here for many Ukrainians on the front lines, and clearly a very transactional approach towards this relationship from the Trump administration. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

DEAN: Nick, thank you. What did you do last week? An ominous email to receive from your employer, but that is the reality for some federal workers tonight. What Elon Musk says will happen if those workers don't respond.

[20:24:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: We have breaking news. A US official confirming to CNN tonight, FBI Director Kash Patel will also serve as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as ATF. The idea of Patel running both agencies has caused some speculation about President Trump potentially merging at least part of ATF with the FBI.

In the past, both Democratic and Republican administrations have struggled to win Senate approval for an ATF director. That's because of opposition from gun rights advocacy groups.

What did you do last week? It's a simple question, but the wrong answer could have career ending consequences in this case. Every federal worker received an email tonight with that subject line to outline their accomplishments over the past week. It comes just after President Trump's warning that remote federal workers must return to the office or they'll be fired.

CNN's Betsy Klein joining us from the White House. Betsy, what's the latest on this?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Jessica, certainly a lot of uncertainty for the federal workforce and the Trump administration doing very little to quell that anxiety. We heard from President Trump earlier today speaking to a friendly audience at CPAC where he played some of the greatest hits, but also said that he believes he has "a resounding mandate for dramatic change in Washington."

And to that point, we have seen him take steps to dramatically reshape the federal workforce and slash federal spending, along with Elon Musk, who he's tasked with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, to really slash that federal spending.

[20:30:10]

And as President Trump was speaking at CPAC, we also heard a mandate from Musk, who said in a post to social media, consistent with President Trump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond, Musk says, will be taken as a resignation.

Now, CNN has obtained multiple copies of that email sent across government departments and agencies, some of them with that red exclamation point marking urgency. The subject line starkly says, what did you do last week, and requires those workers to reply to that email, CC their manager, and list about five bullet points to detailing those accomplishments.

Now, all of this comes as President Trump also at CPAC, said -- taking aim at federal workers who continue to remote work with an upcoming return to work mandate. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: They don't report for work, we're firing them. In other words, you have to go to office, right? Right. Look at her. If you don't report to work, that's another scam.

You know, who the hell -- if I'm staying home, I'm going to -- let's see, my golf handicap would get down to very low number. You'd be shocked if I told you the real number. But I would be so good. I'd try and get on tour. I would be so good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Of course, we should note President Trump himself worked remotely this past week and was on the golf course four out of the last eight days. Now, of course, all of this comes as the President is dramatically reshaping the federal workforce and, of course, Jessica, so much uncertainty ahead.

DEAN: All right. Betsy Klein at the White House, thanks so much for that. Elon Musk's growing influence in the US government now includes an extensive personal security detail. Sources telling CNN members of his team have now been deputized by the US Marshals Service. And Brian Todd has this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the same stage where he confidently brandished a chainsaw to symbolize how he's slashed jobs and costs in the federal government.

ELON MUSK, HEAD, DOGE: This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.

TODD: The world's richest person responded to a comment from his interviewer that his security detail is "enormous."

MUSK: Not that enormous. Maybe it should be bigger., I don't know.

TODD: Whether it gets bigger or not, Elon Musk's security detail will seemingly now have more access. Members of Musk's detail, private employees, have been deputized by the US Marshals Service, giving them some rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents. That's according to new reporting from CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz and Whitney Wild, citing three law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.

What does this mean for Musk's security agents?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: They can carry guns on federal property, on airplanes. It means they can take enforcement action, including using those firearms against someone who is perceived as a threat. It gives them a lot of authority that the security details around other billionaires just don't get.

TODD: CNN sources say some people close to the Trump White House have been surprised by the scale of Musk's security detail since he became a more regular presence in President Trump's orbit last year. They say Musk's detail rivaled only the President's own detail.

JONATHAN WACKROW, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Many have law enforcement or military backgrounds, they've gone to specialized schools for executive protection, for driving, for medical care, for firearms proficiency.

TODD: A person with direct knowledge of Elon Musk's comments tells CNN, Musk has become increasingly concerned with his security since Trump took office and has told those around him that death threats against him have increased.

MUSK: I don't actually have a death wish, I think.

WACKROW: Now put him into this new role, this hybrid government role, where he is basically going through and changing people's lives. That is going to really agitate individuals, all necessitating an increased level of protection around Elon Musk.

TODD: CNN's John Miller says one concern going forward is making sure Musk's security team doesn't get into a dangerous, confusing situation involving the Secret Service whenever Musk is in close proximity to.

MILLER: The President, you have the Secret Service there and something kicks off. Somebody hears a shot, something comes from the crowd, how do they deconflict with the Secret Service? It's not a good situation when two different teams who may not have radio communications or seamless communications are both pulling out weapons at a time of chaos.

TODD: One of CNN sources said with the new deputizations of Musk's security team, if something does go awry, it means the Marshals Service could be held legally liable. CNN has reached out to the Marshals Service and to the Justice Department for comment. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:35:05]

DEAN: Brian, thank you. As vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes over as health secretary, Texas health officials are rapid or battling a rapidly spreading outbreak of measles. It's a disease we once declared eliminated. They say there's a common trend among the patients.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:40:00]

DEAN: At least 11 deaths have been connected to a listeria outbreak linked to frozen supplemental shakes. The infection has also 37 people in the hospital. The FDA tracing the illnesses to products distributed in hospitals -- distributed in health care facilities across 21 states, though shakes have been recalled and officials are investigating the outbreak.

The fast moving measles outbreak in West Texas has now reached 90 cases. That number is expected to rise. Measles is highly contagious, it can be deadly, but there is a very effective vaccine for this. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta traveled to one Texas hospital and has more now on the efforts to contain this outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So many of the people who get infected with measles, who get sick, need to be hospitalized, are children. So we're here at Covenant Children's and I want to give you an idea of how this works over here. Somebody pulls up even before they go inside the hospital, they'll actually get evaluated in this shed out here.

They want to determine if someone actually has measles. They need to be put into personal protective gear, and then taken inside the hospital.

LARA JOHNSON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, COVENANT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: We've had over 15 patients admitted here in our children's hospital with measles over the past several weeks.

GUPTA: Dr. Lara Johnson is the chief medical officer here. How do you even begin to approach as a patient comes in, what do you do for them?

JOHNSON: Most of the patients who've been admitted have had respiratory issues. They've been needing supplemental oxygen and respiratory support to help them get over the viral pneumonia part that we see with measles.

GUPTA: It's one thing to treat these patients on the ground, but the key in the middle of a measles outbreak is to try and prevent more cases from occurring. That's really challenging given how contagious this is.

Appreciate it. Hey, how you doing? Nice to meet you. How's it going?

JENNIFER SHUFORD, COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES: It's what else can be expected.

GUPTA: That's the kind of the reaction we're getting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freezing weather and measles outbreaks.

GUPTA: Dr. Jennifer Shuford is the commissioner for the State Health Department. What do you think the next weeks and months is going to look like?

SHUFORD: I think that we're going to continue to see cases and what the next few months look like kind of depends on how effective we are at getting messaging out about, you know, making sure that people get vaccinated, that they stay at home if they're sick, and really trying to push that message through really trusted community leaders.

GUPTA: You and I have been doctors for some time, I think me a bit longer than you, but have you ever seen measles before?

SHUFORD: No. And I'm an infectious disease physician. I've never diagnosed a case.

GUPTA: That's incredible.

SHUFORD: It's because, you know, measles was declared eliminated from the United States back in the year 2000 because of the effectiveness of that vaccine. And it's only now, with falling immunization rates, not just here in Texas, but across the country and around the world, that we're starting to see more of these outbreaks.

GUPTA: Now, while most of the cases have been in a close knit rural Mennonite community, worry has started to spread. Hello?

AMY GANDY, PARENT OF IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CHILD: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you?

GUPTA: How you doing? Hey, I'm Sanjay.

GANDY: Amy. Nice to meet you.

GUPTA: You too. How's it going? Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. This is Owen.

GUPTA: Hey, Owen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Owen.

GANDY: Owen was a micro preemie, so he spent the first hundred and two or three days in the hospital. And since then, with his weakened immune system and everything that he went through, we just don't know how he would handle the measles.

GUPTA: Amy and Eric Gandy have lived in Lubbock for 20 years.

ERIC GANDY, PARENT OF IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CHILD: And the good thing about it is Riley really likes getting shots, so.

GUPTA: Now both their kids, 11-year-old Owen and 9-year-old Riley, are vaccinated. But that's the thing about outbreaks, low vaccination rates can put vulnerable people in danger.

E. GANDY: I mean, really, I think it's time that everybody like takes a look just at your political reasons or your religious reasons, and kind of think about that group of people and the new or the old information about vaccines, and really take a deep look into what it is that you really believe and why you really believe that.

GUPTA: You just set this up. When the outbreak's happening, you say --

RON COOK, LUBBOCK HEALTH AUTHORITY: Set it up this week. GUPTA: Dr. Ron Cook is with the Lubbock Health Authority.

COOK: We've got plenty of vaccine, but we just need people to come get it.

GUPTA: And are people coming in?

COOK: They did 13 yesterday?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty three.

COOK: Twenty three yesterday.

GUPTA: Twenty three, okay. How would you describe what's going on here?

COOK: We have pockets that are not well-vaccinated. But these individuals like in Gaines County down there that come to shop here. We have Costco and Sam's and Walmart, and they come here to do big shopping on the weekends and they bring their kids and they walk through Costco or they walk through these big shopping centers, and then they're exposing these people.

[20:45:17]

GUPTA: It's why they believe this outbreak is likely to continue for weeks, if not months, and why every shot here will make a difference. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Lubbock, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Sanjay, thank you. Scientists in China are celebrating what they say is a breakthrough drug for treating cancer that can go toe to toe with American alternatives. But not everyone sold on that new treatment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:50:21]

DEAN: A new Chinese cancer medicine is sparking high hopes for breakthrough drugs. Scientists caution that so far the results have not been verified, though outside China. But the medical advance also raises the possibility that AI isn't the only way China could potentially threaten America.

China's biotech industry may also be on the verge of disrupting American primacy, Will Ripley explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chinese scientists celebrating a breakthrough, one that may have just outperformed a top US cancer drug.

Akeso, barely known a year ago, is now shaking up the biotech world. Their new cancer drug, Ebronucimab, their first to get major international attention, going head to head with Keytruda, one of Merck's biggest sellers, more than $130 billion so far.

Clinical trials in China show it kept lung tumors from growing for nearly twice as long, sending the stock of Akeso's US partner soaring. Some call it a game changer. Just like Chinese startup DeepSeek shook up AI.

China's innovation push goes beyond biotech. From AI to robotics to medicine, China is racing ahead.

MICHELLE XIA, FOUNDER/CEO, AKESO: I don't think it will be a threat because, you know, innovation, science is the global thing.

RIPLEY: Akeso's CEO Michelle Xia telling reporters in San Francisco, China's biotech industry is going global.

XIA: We participate more and more to this ecosystem.

RIPLEY: But in China, skepticism is everywhere, especially online. On the streets of Beijing --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): No, I've never heard of it.

RIPLEY: Several people told us they've never heard of the company or its drug. This man says he still trusts pricier foreign drugs more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): To be honest, I tend to choose the more expensive medicine. After all, you get what you pay for.

RIPLEY: They may have good reason to be wary. A public hospital scandal over questionable drug quality triggered a government probe last month. China's health regulator defended the drug's safety, saying the investigation found the quality concerns to be unsubstantiated. But some say they're not convinced

Is there any reason not to trust China clinical trials?

REBECCA LIANG SENIOR ANALYST, AB BERNSTEIN: Yes. So there's been a lot of scrutiny in the past. The FDA has made rejections because there's been the trial setup is not rigorous enough.

RIPLEY: Despite the doubts, China's biotech boom is undeniable. Investors are pumping billions into research. And while not all clinical trials are peer-reviewed, China's low cost, high speed trials are getting noticed.

How should patients feel watching this?

LIANG: Well, I think it's good news for patients worldwide where you're waiting for life saving drug, you don't really mind where it originates.

RIPLEY: The US still leads biotech for now but Akeso's drug is proof, China is closing in fast. (END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: The US House passed the Bio Secure Act to limit business with Chinese firms. And Beijing is firing back accusing the US of ideological bias, calling for a "fair, just and non discriminatory business environment." China's biotech rise isn't just about medicine, it's also political. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

DEAN: Well, thank you for that. And coming up next, a new episode of "Have I Got News For You." This week's guests include Republican New York Congressman Mike Lawler and comedian Joyelle Nicole Johnson. And here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump lives by one song. It was a Beach Boys hit back in the day. Aruba, Jamaica, Panama, I'm going take you. Bermuda, Bahama, Greenland come home to your mama. Key Largo, Toronto, Trudeau, why don't we go? Off the Mediterranean Sea, there's a place called Gazelago, that's where we've got to go to get some USAID.

(APPLAUSE)

AMBER RUFFIN, COMEDIAN: We just have to prepare a song because, honey --

UNKNOWN: We can freestyle a song right here.

ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Hey, of the memorization alone, I got to give points.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is very impressive. That new episode airs next right here on CNN. And I want to say thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again right back here tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern. Have a great night, everyone.

[20:55:10]

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